Forever
by Johnny Davenport
Summary: There are some promises that are made to be broken and there are some that are made to be. A reunion fic. Spoilers for JE and The Wedding of River Song. One-shot.


Disclaimer: Doctor Who does not belong to me.

A/N: Our story is set in a time after The Wedding of River Song, when Amy and Rory are traveling with the Doctor again and River is tagging along. For Rose and John, it is set with enough time after Journey's End for them to have grown their own TARDIS and have been traveling in it for a while.

Now come along, readers. The story begins.

Rose Tyler and John Smith laughed as they piloted the TARDIS together, doing their best not to be thrown around the room like rag dolls.

With a bump they landed, the TARDIS as well as John and Rose on their rumps.

Rose giggled as John clamored up to check their coordinates.

"Oh don't do that!" Rose said, jumping to her feet. "You'll spoil all the fun."

She ignored John's yell that the air might not be breathable, yanked the door open, and stepped outside.

Standing there in front of her was the TARDIS.

She turned around 180 degrees and standing there in front of her was the TARDIS.

"John, I've got a surprise for you!" Rose yelled before turning to inspect the other TARDIS.

Just as she got close enough to read the strange round sticker on the door, it popped open.

Rose was greeted by a woman with long red hair.

The redhead took one look at Rose and turned back to her TARDIS.

"See!" she yelled, "It's perfectly safe! There's a girl out here!"

As much as Rose disliked being called a "girl" at her age, she couldn't help but return the apologetic smile to the man behind the redhead who had just had his ear drums blown out.

"Amy, there's no need to yell, I'm sure he could have heard you just fine at normal volumes," the man admonished gently.

"That's a lovely TARDIS you've got there," Rose said before Amy could reply.

Both Amy and her companion stared at her.

"How do you know it's called a TARDIS?" came a voice from inside.

Out stepped a woman with the curliest hair Rose had ever seen and a rather large gun strapped to her hip.

"It's a bit obvious," said the man, pointing behind Rose towards her own TARDIS.

"Who are you?" the curly haired woman asked, her fingers twitching towards her weapon.

"Rooooooose!" came a whiny voice from behind her.

John stepped out of the TARDIS with his overcoat only halfway on and his other arm flailing absurdly behind him.

Rose laughed and grabbed he side of John's coat that was trailing in the dust, helping him slide his arm into the sleeve.

"You're lucky your other self didn't see that," Rose said softly. "How embarrassing would that have been for him?"

John froze, his arms up in the process of fixing his hair, which had begun to silver at the temples.

"Other self?"

Rose turned him to face the small group standing in front of the other TARDIS.

"Is this me?" John asked disdainfully, circling the man who had come out with Amy.

"Um, I'm Rory," he said, confused.

"You're being rude again," Rose said, pulling John quickly away, seeing as he had been about to lick Rory's face.

"Sorry about him," Rose said. "His curiosity beats out his manners the majority of the time."

"We've got one of those too," Amy said, a smile coming to her face.

"I'm Amy, this is my husband, Rory, and this is River Song."

Rose smiled, shaking hands with Amy.

"I'm-"

"Rose."

She whipped around to see a man in a bow tie standing in the doorway to the TARDIS wearing a shocked expression.

Rose pushed past Amy and River to pull him into a tight hug.

"And she says I'm the rude one," was muttered behind her.

Rose let out a happy sigh as her Doctor wrapped his arms around her just as tightly and held her head to his chest.

His chest that beat with two hearts, that smelled of time and more than nine hundred years of living.

He pulled back and Rose grinned, her tongue poking out at the corner of her lips.

"I've missed you," he said, looking at her with eyes far to old for his new body.

"I've missed you too," Rose said, pressing her hand to his cheek tenderly.

The Doctor covered her hand with his and held it there, closing his eyes and he leaned into her touch.

"Wait," he said, pulling away suddenly, both concern and disappointment rushing through him. "What about-"

"He's right here," Rose said gently, not sure how he would react.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him fully out of the TARDIS.

"So this is me now?" John asked skeptically. "All bow tie and braces?" He snapped one of the Doctor's braces against his chest as he spoke.

"Bow ties are cool," he replied. Then his demeanor changed in an attempt to be intimidating, "Have you been taking care of Rose?"

"More like she's been taking care of me!" John grinned, unaffected by the Doctor's tone. "A lovely girl, your Rose."

"M-My Rose?" the Doctor stuttered.

"Well she never was mine, was she," John replied softly.

"Doctor what's going on here?" Amy's voice interrupted.

"This," River said, "is Rose Tyler. The Valiant Child. The Bad Wolf."

Both the Doctor and John flinched at that.

"The pink and yellow human who stole the Doctor's hearts," River finished, sounding rather unhappy.

"Now wait a minute," Rory interjected. "If he's so in love with her, then why did he marry you?"

Rose's eyes widened in shock and River gave her a smug smile.

"I'm not angry," Rose said after a deep breath, as John put his hand on her shoulder. "Maybe a bit disappointed that after all this time-"

Rose turned her eyes to the Doctor's, "But I never wanted you to be alone. You've got a new family here and I can see that you care about them very much. We should be going now." She turned to go.

"Rose stop!"

She stopped, her hand on the door of the TARDIS.

"You need to tell him, Rose. He should know the kind of life he's condemned you to," John said angrily.

"Don't," Rose said, not moving. "You promised."

"And _you _promised you'd tell him," he fired back.

"He's _married_!" Rose shouted, spinning around angrily. "That wasn't part of the equation."

"_He _is right here," the floppy haired Doctor said, more curious than irritated.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Rose said. "But really, it will only make things worse."

She turned back to the TARDIS.

"She's immortal!" John blurted out.

Rose cringed and everybody else stared.

"Immortal?" Rory said in awe, as though he'd forgotten his 2,000 year stint protecting Amy in the Pandorica. "But you're human! Aren't you?"

Rose looked at Rory, smiling sadly, "I used to be."

"Well what are you now?" River asked suspiciously.

Rose closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were glowing gold.

"I am the Bad Wolf," her voice echoed.

"That's not possible," the Doctor said, stepping forward. "You don't feel any different, I should be able to tell, like with-"

"I'm not like Jack," Rose interrupted, her eyes back to normal. "And I'm not immortal."

"Yes well, but it's much more dramatic than, 'She's going to live for a very very very long time'," John grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't understand," Amy said.

"I _can _die," Rose said. "But only after a specific event."

Rose hesitated then.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked after a few moments of silence.

"I'm-my timeline is directly connected to the TARDIS. Yours, not ours." She looked into the Doctor's eyes, "I won't die until the TARDIS does."

"Of course," Rose said, turning to look at the others. "We did have a bit of a scare about a year ago. I got very sick and completely useless for about a week."

"The Pandorica?" Amy asked.

The Doctor nodded, "The TARDIS exploded last year. Thankfully, I was there to do something clever and save her and everything else."

"Thankfully, _Amy _remembered you and brought you back," Rory added.

"Well yes, that too of course," the Doctor patted Amy's head.

"You understand what this means, don't you Doctor?" John spoke up.

"Unless there is another universe destroying TARDIS explosion," River pointed out.

"The TARDIS is directly linked to my timeline," the Doctor said, nodding.

"So the TARDIS dies when you do?" Amy asked.

"But if Rose won't die until the TARDIS does..." Rory trailed off.

"I won't die until the Doctor does," Rose finished.

There was a murmur of forever in the air.

She gave the Doctor a sideways glance, "I didn't want to put you in a position like this. You're married, she must mean an awful lot to you. I'm happy for you."

She turned to John, "_Now _we're leaving."

Rose paused, her hand resting on the TARDIS as John entered before her, "Maybe we'll run into each other again some time."

She shut the TARDIS door behind her as her trench coated best friend started up the engines.

"Where do you want to go?" John asked once they were in the vortex.

Rose had yet to turn away from the closed doors.

At her softly mumbled answer, John pulled a lever and the TARDIS shot off.

They landed gently a few minutes later and Rose wiped the tears off of her cheeks before stepping outside without a word.

John stayed inside, knowing she would want some time alone.

Rose inhaled deeply, the smell of apple grass comforting her.

Then she heard the unmistakable sound of the TARDIS dematerializing.

"What the hell is he doing?" Rose said to herself as she spun around.

But the TARDIS was still there and, in fact, there was another TARDIS just behind it.

She sat down and watched as the Timelord emerged and looked around until his eyes fell on her. He walked up and sat down next to her.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here. This place always was one of your favorites."

"Why are you here?" Rose asked, laying back to watch the clouds.

"I do care about River," he started.

"Is that why you came here? To rub it in my face?" Rose glared at the turtle shaped cloud floating above her. So much for not being angry.

"Please, let me finish," he said gently.

After a moment, when she did not answer, he began again.

"I do care for River, the same as I care about Amy and Rory. The way I cared about Martha and Donna. Jack even. But none of that compares-" he stopped.

"Rose look at me," he said, touching her chin gently.

She met his gaze, unsure, and waited.

"None of that compares to how much I care about you."

Rose still trusted the Doctor with her life, but she couldn't help but be doubtful when it came to his feelings. "You married her," she said simply.

"I've been married before Rose. I told you once that I'd been a father. I've been a grandfather. I've danced."

"But that was before me," Rose said, knowing she sounded conceited, but she didn't care.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Rose. I had thought you were going to have a new adventure."

The Doctor waved his hands in the air.

"That's beside the point though. My marriage to River was a marriage of convenience. It's the only way I could convince her to kill me. I-"

"WHAT?" Rose exploded. "You married her so she _would _kill you?"

"It's a long story," the Doctor said, leaning back slightly, still fearful of the infamous Tyler slap. "But I've got to tell you something," he said calmingly.

At his tone, Rose sat up and looked him straight in the face, giving him her full attention.

The Doctor took a very deep, slightly shaky breath and then he spoke.

"There was a time in my life when I was traveling with this extraordinary girl and I used to dream of married life. Human marriage, not the cold Timelord definition of it. I dreamt of dancing with her and of 'dancing' with her. I dreamt of pink and yellow and brown children running around the TARDIS. I dreamt of forever."

Silent tears rolled down Rose's cheeks as she listened to his story.

"But it wasn't possible with her, Rose. I couldn't have forever with that pink and yellow human."

"I'm not human anymore, not completely," Rose whispered, hardly daring to hope.

The Doctor continued, a spark igniting in his eyes at her words.

"Now there is this wonderful creature before me and I can hardly believe it. All of my dreams, that I had buried so long ago, have been given a new life."

"Doctor, what exactly are you saying?" Rose asked.

"I am saying, Rose Tyler, that I love you and-"

Rose cut him off sharply, tackling him the rest of the way to the ground with her lips planted firmly on his.

The Doctor squeaked in surprise, but quickly came about and began reciprocating her actions. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Several moments later, Rose pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes.

"I love you too," she said breathlessly.

He grinned, her lips were puffy and her cheeks were flushed. He ran his knuckles down her cheek.

"Rose, my beautiful Rose," he murmured as she closed her eyes and hummed blissfully.

A particularly loud honk sounded from one of the vehicles rushing past above them, breaking the moment.

Rose rolled off of the Doctor and they both lay silently watching the traffic fly by.

"So," the Doctor said, rolling over and leaning on his elbow to look at Rose. "What I had planned to say, before I was so rudely interrupted," he winked at her.

"Yes, I am curious," Rose rolled to face him as well, her eyes dancing with joy.

"I love you, Rose Tyler, _and_ I would be deeply honored if you would allow me to spend the rest of my forever with you."

Rose grinned, her tongue sneaking out from behind her pearly whites.

She took his hand and intwined their fingers.

"Forever."

The Doctor grinned and kissed her tenderly.

Then they laid back and watched the stars come out. He had his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his double heartbeat.

After a long while, the Doctor made a questioning hum.

"Hmm?" Rose hummed back contentedly.

"Well there is just one _little _thing..." the Doctor said, turning his head to look at her.

"What's that?" she asked, concerned.

"Who's going to tell River?"

-The End-


End file.
